Don Nickles: “I hope this amendment can be agreed to. In the underlying bill on page 173, it has ``effective dates'' for…”

“I hope this amendment can be agreed to. In the underlying bill on page 173, it has ``effective dates'' for implementation of the legislation. The effective date for everybody, all plans in America, is by October 1, 2002. So that is when all the plans in America will have to comply with this bill. They will have to have the patient protections in line, the appeals process, the liability sections--all are mandated to be effective by October 1 next year. That is about 14 months from now. If you continue reading on page 173, you find out that the plans that are covered by collective bargaining agreements are exempt. They are exempt from the legislation. It says they ``shall not apply to plan years beginning before the later of--(A) the date on which the last collective bargaining agreements relating to the plan terminates.'' Some of these plans may not terminate for months. Some may not terminate for years. As a matter of fact, looking at a couple of examples, one is the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union, with 2,200 employees, has a 128-month contract. It doesn't expire until 2010. The International Union of Electric Workers, with 1,800 employees, has a 148-month contract that doesn't expire until the year 2007. I could go on and on. There are lots of examples. The point is that there are about 30 million lives that would be exempt from this bill for years.”